The PlayStation Phone cometh, and sooner than you might have thought. Sony Ericsson formally unveiled its Xperia Play Android-based gaming phone last night, with more than 20 publishers already signed up to make games for it, and 50+ titles promised for its launch. When will that launch be? Sony Ericsson said March, but UK operator …

Think Apple fans will believe anything CEO Steve Jobs says? Think again. Jobs announced last week that the iOS 4.3 software update would be made available on 11 March, yet yesterday saw people around the world frantically hammering the ‘Check for Update’ button in iTunes around 6pm GMT, after rumours that the update was arriving three days early. It didn’t. …

Adding full-blown voice recognition to mobile phones is a total no-brainer. Apple may be the first to achieve it by marrying its advanced office-friendly iPhone and iPad apps with decent native voice recognition in iOS 5. Jobs’ mob is in “serious negotiations” with speech technology company Nuance, according to TechCrunch. Some voice control is present in iOS, but it’s far …

Another iOS update? Quick, dash to your computer! Oh, actually, maybe don’t rush. Apple has pushed out the iOS 4.3.1 software update for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, but it’s essentially just bug fixes. Separately, though, there’s some intriguing information on the loose about the next major update to Apple’s software, iOS 5. iOS 4.3.1’s release comes hot on the …

If you’re one of those people who’ve bought Angry Birds multiple times for different devices, rejoice. You’ll soon be able to port your saved game between your gadgets. Rovio, the developer behind the game, has confirmed on Twitter that its sync feature will make its debut in the next couple of months. “We are working hard on that, before summer is the …

A couple of videos have appeared that seem to show a pre-production white iPhone 4 running a version of iOS with previously unseen features. In the first video, uploaded to YouTube by Vietnamese tech blog Tinh te, a disembodied pair of hands holds what appears to be a white iPhone 4. As the anonymous owner’s digits poke around the touchscreen, …

Analyst firm IDC has stuck its neck out with a futuregazing report that sees Windows Phone overhauling Apple’s iOS in just four years. With Ovum forecasting that Microsoft’s OS will overtake BlackBerry by 2016, the analyst reports are making good reading for Redmond this month. Both sets of forecasts agree that Google’s Android will be top dog, though. IDC predicts …

Your iPhone will no longer keep tabs on your movement, thanks to the latest software update from Apple. The latest version of the iOSsoftware ends the company’s controversial saving of data tracking your movements on your phone and computer. iOS 4.3.3 reduces the amount of data saved and deletes the cache when you opt to turn off location services. The …

Apple is mapping the future of its maps app. The fruit-flavoured phone-flogger is advertising for a software engineer to improve the features and interface of maps on iOS devices, including the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Apple is advertising for an iOS Maps application developer. Based in Apple’s California headquarters, the role requires knowledge of Objective-C, C, or C++ program …

Perhaps when iOS 5 arrives this fall, it will offer a way to delete text messages en masse. Currently, your deleting options are limited in the iPhone’s native texting app, which is disappointing to anyone with dozens if not hundreds of old text messages littering your inbox. At the present, you have three methods to delete texts: 1. The fastest …

iOS 5 is alive, packing a raft of new features — you no longer need to plug your iPhone or iPad into your computer to sync and update. Software updates will now be beamed to your phone automatically over the air, and you can sync your stuff to iTunes over Wi-Fi, so you may never need that white cable ever …

Unless you were sleeping under rock a yesterday, you heard that iOS 5 is official and coming to an iDevice near you this fall. (Here’s a brief tour of what’s inside.) Although CNET’s Kent German thinks Apple took only “baby steps” with the new OS, I think there’s a lot to like. In fact, at the risk of sounding like …

Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I’m stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at [email protected]. If you …

The HTC ChaCha has finally been called to the dancefloor, and is slinking down the stairs with its gorgeous partner, the Three network. We’ve known for several months that Three would offer the Facebook-centric smart phone in June, and the network has started swinging its snake-like hips sooner rather than later. It’s available free on £20 per month contracts, or …

Perhaps in response to Apple’s little iCloud announcement yesterday, Microsoft posted new details about a couple of features coming to its cloud-based SkyDrive storage service with the Windows Phone Mango update. This includes: The option to share photos stored on SkyDrive via e-mail, text, and IM and the ability to upload videos to the cloud. Previously, Microsoft revealed that the …